Candidates for La Center’s city council race separated by a single vote

The race for a spot on La Center’s city council general election ballot comes down to just a single vote, according to updated ballot tallies from the Clark County Election’s Office.

T.R. Williams will advance to November’s election for the Position 3 seat, with 354 votes. But his challenger could be either Janice Fowler, with 297 votes, or Sean Boyle, with 296 votes.

It’s the closest race of the Aug. 3 primary, made even closer with each new daily vote tally (as of Wednesday, Fowler had been 10 votes ahead). Another La Center city council race, for Position 1, also remains extremely close; Justin Keeler and Melissa Fox still remain on track to advance, with 293 and 272 votes, respectively. But the third candidate, Myrna Leija, follows close behind with 249 votes.

More results are due to be released Friday afternoon.

In odd-year primary elections – when voter turnout typically hovers below 25 percent – local races can be decided on small margins. The Hockinson School District Position 1 race will be decided by just a few dozen ballots, with Tim Hawkins (556 votes) and Bill Eling (492 votes) competing to see who will face Teresa VanNatta (1,130 votes) in the general election.

In the Vancouver School District, Position 2 incumbent Sandra Zavala-Ortega is holding her narrow lead over challenger Michelle Belkot, 8,126 votes to Belkot’s 7,964 votes. Both, however, are on track to continue to the general election.

In north Clark County, a tax levy that would fund North Country EMS passed an important threshold on Thursday – among both Yacolt and unincorporated county voters, the one-year,$1.10-per-$1,000 property tax levy has gained enough votes for approval. The measure had fallen short on election night due to low voter participation, despite an approval rating of nearly 90 percent in Yacolt and 80 percent in the unincorporated area.

According to the updated tally from the elections office, 72,312 of Clark County’s 298,540 registered voters participated in Tuesday’s primary, bringing turnout to 24.22 percent. Officials will certify the election results on Aug. 17.